DECEMBER 2023
December comes and December goes,
With the last red berries,
And the first white snows.
With night coming early and dawn coming late,
And ice in the bucket,
And frost by the gate.
The fires burn and the kettle sings,
And earth sinks to rest
Until next Spring
Hard to believe that we are in December but hey, let’s talk about what happened in NOVEMBER. It was a great month! And boy, there is so much to tell you!!! Let’s get right to it…
FUNDRAISERS
We are a non profit society and we rely a lot on fundraising and the funds we make go towards our outdoor and indoor play spaces. Thank you for supporting our Preschool!
Here is what your fundraising efforts have raised so far:
LITTLE KITCHEN ACADEMY: $210 (Spring/Summer sessions)
SAMOSA FUNDRAISER: $784.42
CLASS PHOTO DONATIONS: $250
PURDYS CHOCOLATES: $1323.07
PIZZA NIGHT: $1070
SCHOLASTICS BOOKS: $118.72
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!! We appreciate all your support!
Look below to see the SCHOOL CLOSURES and Special Events coming up!!
| DATE | DAY | EVENT |
|---|---|---|
| DEC 13 | WED | CHRISTMAS SERVICE (3S & 4S) |
| DEC 20-22 | WED-FRI | CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS PARTIES |
| DEC 22 | FRI | LAST DAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS BREAK |
| JAN 8 | MON | FIRST DAY BACK TO PRESCHOOL |
| JAN 31 | WED | SEPT 2024 REGISTRATION (Current Families) |
| FEB 1 | THURS | SEPT 2024 REGISTRATION (New Families) |
| FEB 13/14 | TUE/WED | CHILDREN'S VALENTINE'S DAY PARTIES |
| FEB 16 | FRI | PRO-D DAY: PRESCHOOL CLOSED |
| FEB 19 | MON | FAMILY DAY: PRESCHOOL CLOSED |
PARKING
Please remember when picking up and dropping off, to use the BIG PARKING LOT.
Please do not park in the small parking lot off Ridgewood Drive. Thank you!
FEES: Please remember to get your Jan-Jun postdated cheques in to the office BEFORE the Christmas Holiday!! Thanks!!
REGISTRATION FOR 2024/25 SCHOOL YEAR
Registration this year will begin for current families in January. Registration forms will be handed out and currently enrolled families will get PRIORITY PLACEMENT if their forms and deposits are returned before FEB. 1ST.
New families will then fill in all the extra spots on Feb. 1st so make sure your forms are in early so you do not lose your PRIORITY PLACEMENT!!
It is SICKNESS TIME!!!
This time of year it is a never-ending revolving door of sickness coming in to the preschool.
Thank you for keeping your sick children at home!
CHECK OUT WHAT HAPPENED IN THE CLASSROOMS LAST MONTH!! Let the teachers know what you think!!
RAINBOW ROOM - Danielle (T/Th), Rebecca (M/W), Vibha (M-Th)
In November, Rainbow Room was a burst of colours and joy with the Rainbow and Carnival theme.
Art activities for rainbows involved wrapping clear plastic over paper, where children created designs by squishing around the vibrant paints inside. We also used block paint and crayons to create rainbow colours.
At circle time we enjoyed an interactive felt board story about Spot the dog and his colours, where the children explored various hues as Spot playfully spilled different colours. We also created rainbow with white paper plate with vibrant streamers attached. As we gathered in a circle, dancing with joy, we sang the rainbow song.
Another great success was the Carnival theme. Art activities included balloon painting, popcorn collages, and crafting silly clowns from paper plates. We even whipped up cotton candy and ice-cream masterpieces using shaving cream and glue. Here are the two songs our children enjoyed during circle time.
Clown song sung to “I’m a little Teapot”
I’m a little clown, short and fat
Here is my tummy, here is my hat
I can do a trick as you will see
Just turn around and look at me.
5 Silly Clowns
5 silly clowns jumping all around
Jump so high, then touch the ground.
One turned around and they hopped away.
4 silly clowns remain here to play.
Repeat with four, three, two and one.
During Pyjama week, the children looked absolutely adorable in their cozy Pyjama’s. We celebrated with pancake making and a movie about Llamas in Pyjamas, and had fun decorating PJ’s with gold glitter and potato- mashed banana prints.
Circle time featured stories about veggies in PJ’s and the Hokey-Pokey action song. Excitement filled the classroom as our little two’s enjoyed the balance beam and going in and out of the tunnel- which became a hide-and-seek spot. Unexpected twist was our little two’s playfully arranged toy animals on the balancing beam. In every step on the balance beam and going through the tunnel and the carnival tent, the children were discovering the joy of learning through play.
The children are already very excited about our next theme: Christmas! We have many more exciting things to do around this special time of the year.
Please continue to send extra clothing as our twos thoroughly enjoy themselves at the water table and creative world of painting.
Vibha, Danielle & Rebecca
TREEHOUSE ROOM - Carol (T/Th), Catriona (MWF), Gabi (M-F), Karen (M-F), Mary (M-F)
Transportation, Shapes, Remembrance Day and Diwali.
Shapes are the building blocks of our world, and for preschoolers, they're the gateway to understanding the world around them. As these young minds embark on their educational journey, exploring shapes becomes a captivating and pivotal part of their learning experience.
Shapes are everywhere—circles in wheels, squares in building blocks, triangles in slices of pizza. Teaching shapes to young children often starts with the basics: circle, square, triangle, rectangle, and more complex ones like pentagons and hexagons.
Learning Through Play: Preschoolers grasp concepts best through hands-on experiences. Engaging them in playful activities like scavenger hunts to find shapes in the classroom, using shape-sorting toys, or even creating shapes with play-dough fosters a deeper understanding.
Introducing shapes in a fun and interactive way ignites a passion for learning. When children realize the shapes around them, they start seeing the world through a new lens—a lens filled with curiosity and wonder.
The lessons learned through shapes extend far beyond their preschool years. It paves the way for mathematical understanding, spatial reasoning, and even critical thinking as they progress through their education.
In essence, the journey of preschoolers into the world of shapes is more than just identifying circles or squares. It's about nurturing a love for exploration, fostering creativity, and laying the groundwork for a lifetime of learning.
Remembrance Day was spent making painter poppies and poppy bracelets. We made and wore these to show respect and say thank you to those who help keep us safe.
Exploring the World of Transportation
From cars to planes and everything in between, the concept of how we move from place to place captivates their imagination.
The children were introduced to a variety of transportation modes. They learned about cars driving on roads, buses carrying people around town, trains chugging on tracks, boats sailing across water, airplanes soaring through the sky, and even bicycles for those adventurous rides.
Transportation isn't just a lesson in getting from point A to point B; it's an integral part of our daily lives. Children learn how their parents drive them to school or take the bus, how goods arrive at the supermarket, and how planes help people travel to far-off places.
We watched the children as they immersed themselves in hands-on activities to understand transportation better. They played with toy cars and trains, constructed imaginary airports with blocks, and engaged in role-playing as bus drivers
Understanding transportation also involves learning about safety rules and etiquette. Preschoolers grasp the importance of seat belts in cars, following traffic signals and when crossing the road to always look both ways and hold an adults hand.
During November we also celebrated Diwali. A special festival where people light colourful lamps and fireworks. Its a time for happiness, kindness and spending time with family and friends. We also shared yummy coconut treats (thank you Vibha) and painted Dias.
December is here, its all about Christmas
SUNFLOWER ROOM - Carol, Danielle
We started off the month looking at some books from the Pete the Cat series, which is always fun for songs and art. We made Pete, painted shirts with his colourful buttons and used real shoes to make shoe prints in all the colours of the things Pete stepped in (blueberries, mud etc.).
In the second week we had a wonderful mixture of themes. It was the start of Diwali, so we decorated the room with saris, jewels and diyas. We painted our diyas and added a small candle, used sponges to paint fireworks, coloured beautiful mandalas and made a blender full of delicious mango lassi, which everyone tasted and enjoyed. The blender was super noisy when crushing the ice, but the children loved it. We will definitely be making it again, maybe when the weather gets hot!
We had a very successful trip to our local library. We bundled up and walked there, and had a great time with the children’s Librarian singing songs, engaging with her puppets and listening to her stories and books. The children were very well behaved and had a good time walking there and back as well.
In order to mark Remembrance Day, we made fields of poppies with paint and tissue paper, made poppies on the light table, and read a lovely book about a soldier and his dog.
During the third week, we introduced the children to Echo the Orca and we’ve started sending Echo home most weekends with a different family. When they bring him back the children are proud to tell the class about what they did together. For some, it’s their first experience of speaking to the class as a whole; very good practice and a lot of fun.
Instead of a house corner, we had an inflatable boat with life jackets and ocean themed stuffies all around.
We studied Orcas and other sea creatures, painted Echo in the ocean, made jelly fish with long tentacles to hang from our ceiling, and made sandy colourful sea stars.
Our last themes for November were Forest Animals (from B.C.) leading to Bears and Hibernation. For this we put the boat away, and put up a tent. The children cuddled into furry blankets with bears, skunks, moose and hedgehogs (and more). We painted wolves, red squirrels and made moose hats; we also made caves for bears with puffy paint, and gorgeous hedgehogs.
Our older children have started printing their names on their artwork; we begin with tracing and move on to copying, often just the initial letter of their name, then progressing to the other letters. We’re also starting to use scissors more often as part of the art projects.
Some of our most recent artwork will remain a secret until sometime in December…
We hope you’ve noticed your children practicing singing Christmas songs; they are working very hard learning lots of new words and signs for Carols and songs to be performed at our Christmas Service. We are all very excited, and hope to see you all there.
RESOURCE ROOM - Marion
I have always enjoyed this time of year and I am so lucky to be able to see the anticipation of the Holiday Season through the eyes of the children. It is magical!
The children have been rehearsing for several weeks now and are looking forward to performing at the Service on Wednesday, Dec 13th at 6 pm. We are happy that you are able to join us for this event.
In the new year the Discovery 2s will be expanding on sharing and peer interactions.
The Treehouse and Sunflower classes will be working on their self-help skills, fine motor skills and the children heading off to Kindergarten in September will be practicing their Kindergarten readiness skills.
I want to wish all our families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!